Exodus

1. What do you see in this book that tells you about the original reader?
   They may have been easily swayed by the idol worship going on around them, and needed to be reminded that God is the only God there is. In Genesis 32:7 God tells Moses to go back down from the mountain because the people are making idols for themselves. God makes it very clear that this is not okay, and Moses, in His righteous anger grinds up the gold (which was supposed to be used in the holy tabernacle), puts it in water and makes them drink it so that there's not a chance it could be used again.
   It's pretty obvious that God is trying to retrain their mines to know how good He is, that He isn't like all of the other gods they've seen or masters they've been under. They need to know that the He loves them, that He is faithful and keeps His promises. Time after time the Israelites complained and accused Moses but God always heard their complaints and cries and answered their every request. (Gen. 14:11-18, 16:1, 17:3-6)
   
   
2. What do you see in this book that tells you about the author?

From the book we can gather that the author (Moses) started from a place of extreme insecurity, questioning the Lord's call (Ex. 3:11,13, 4:11,13) but slowly became one of the greatest leaders. He has a deep, intimate relationship with the Lord and relies on Him for direction and guidance in everything (Ex.17:4, 33:12-13) and either first-handedly experienced certain things (the burning bush, details ) or has such an intimacy with the Lord that He told him those special details for a reason. It's also clear that He cares very deeply for the Israelites. We see on many occasions how dedicated He is to the Israelites and how much He knows about what God has promised to them. In Exodus 32:11-13 we see him interceding on behalf of them when the Lord is angry because of their sin and even tells the Lord to erase his name from the book, not theirs in Exodus 32:28.

3. What are the main themes, and repeated ideas in this book, and what is a one sentence summary of the “main idea?”

Main themes- I think the most obvious main theme in Genesis is an emphasis on trusting God. Time after time the Israelites begin complaining about things being done or for lack of things provided. They can't seem to trust that the Lord has a plan for them, that they are part of making history and that what they are walking through may seem worse than the situation they came from, but they are being used for the betterment of the generations to comes future. God continually makes a point about keeping the Sabbath day set apart (Ex. 16:29, 20:8, 31:13, 35:2). God also makes a point of making sure the people know that everything done is for His glory so that the targeted audience will know that He is the Lord (7:5, 14:4,18, 16:12).

One sentence summary of Exodus- God preparing his people for the promised land by bringing them to a deeper revelation of who He is, His promises for them and His faithfulness to them.

4. What is the primary reason this book was written?
   The book of Exodus was written so that future generations could read and see who God really is and who He intended for them to know Him as. It is also a way to show the generations the patterns of grumbling and complaining/they're lack of trust. For the generation of Israelites going into the promised land, not knowing what they were coming up against, this should be an encouragement for them, knowing that the Lord provides for every need. He is good (15:1-18) and He wants them to know that.
   
   
5. What does this book show about the character and nature of God?
   “I am who I am.” (3:14) There's no other explanation needed. He is a jealous God (Ex. 34:14, 20:5) and this is made even more clear all of the times that the Israelites sinned and he became angry. He does not like for anything to come between Him and His people, especially sin. He is rescuer (6:7, 14:13-14) and helper (7:4). And as witnessed in the whole chunk about the Tabernacle, He is very detail oriented, He wants to be honored, respected and known as righteous (20-31).
   
   
6. What does this book show about God's redemptive plan for mankind?
   It shows that He cares and longs for His people to be in communion with Him. He gives them the Passover as a means of continuing to live with Him and celebrate who He is (12:14). The passover is a foreshadowing of the redemption that's to come through Jesus.